Railroad ties may be tiled.
If you have a home with railroad tie beams or floors, you may want to redo them to add a new look. One option is to install tile over the railroad ties. This adds color and a smoother, more consistent texture. Tile is installed on wood surfaces even in new home installations. However that wood is smooth and flat. Railroad ties often have large cracks and crevices in the surface. If you prepare the ties the right way, the job will be a success.
Prepping the Finish
One method is to prepare the rail road ties for tile installation by refinishing the wood itself. In this method, the rail road tie surface is smoothed out and made to be as close to a plywood surface as possible. Use an orbital sander or belt sander with a very low grit sandpaper (60 to 120) on the rough surface and establish a flat, sanded base on which to work. Once the surface is sanded smooth, a leveling compound is then spread over the ties with a square trowel to create a true and flat surface to tile on. A thick layer of grout is troweled on, and the tiles set in place.
Sublayers
Another method is to add a thin subsurface to the railroad ties. This is similar to tiling over a bare concrete floor. Cut a piece of backer board to the size of the railroad tile with a table saw. Add a bead of wood adhesive to the back of the backer board and install it on the railroad tie. If the surface of the tie is too rough and scattered with lots of cracks, attempt to sand the surface down with a belt sander prior to the installation. This will provide more surface area for the backer board to adhere to the surface.
The other option is to install the sublayer to the railroad ties using three-inch wood screws. In this case, make sure the screw heads are driven just below the top of the wood, slightly recessed. The next step is to trowel on your mortar and tile the board.
Alternative Methods
Alternative methods may be used to prepare the railroad ties to receive tile. For instance, apply a layer of wood filler (similar to wood putty) on the surface of the railroad tie using a plastic scraper to cover large cracks and crevices. Once the putty dries, the railroad tie must be prepared with a leveling compound. Trowel this onto the ties with a square trowel and let it dry. Now, the ties are ready to be tiled.
Additional Considerations
Many railroad tie floors are uneven due to the natural shape of the ties and their propensity to shrink and settle over time. This means that tiling over them will be a challenge. To solve this problem, a layer of gypsum leveling compound must be spread over the surface before the tile is installed, especially if you are tiling a large surface area. This is true even if you plan on laying a subfloor over the railroad tie floor.
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